Employee Competencies: What is “Noise” and How do You Fix It?
In a recent post, I explained how to identify employee competencies, gaps and weaknesses. Today, I'll focus on “noise,” which is a significant weakness characterized by its notable success-limiting qualities. In other words, it’s a professional weakness that prevents an employee from further career advancement.How do you turn an employee’s noise into a sound competency that will allow him to move onward and upward?Here are a four steps you can take today:
1. Identify the Noise
What significant weakness are you seeing in your employee that are preventing her from thriving in the workplace? For example: Does she procrastinate and fail to meet deadlines? Is she uncomfortable and nervous around higher management? Is she uncooperative and unwilling to learn new things?Remember, noise is any behavior or characteristic that's limiting to your employee’s growth and success. These limiting behaviors must be addressed, but the goal here is to work with her to identify her developmental needs and goals and work on them while keeping in alignment with your organization's overall goals and objectives.
2. Create a Growth Strategy
Once you've identified the noise, the next step is to create a growth strategy. This is a collaborative process and should be thought out and designed with your employee.The contents of each growth strategy will vary from person to person and organization to organization, and are dependent upon an employee's baseline skill level and the organization's resources. Good growth strategies provide an employee with solid, tangible steps he can take, such as actions, coaching, development events, reading and training.
3. Take Action
Typically, an "action" is an activity that brings about a change in behavior or, in some cases, serves as a reminder to avoid certain behaviors. The key to an action's effectiveness is its ability to help an employee turn behaviors into habits through practice. Designing and implementing actions is a crucial step in the developmental growth process, as it's often the most beneficial tool for building an employee’s competencies.So, you should consider what actions your employee can take on the job today to bring about a change in her behavior. For example, if she's nervous around higher management and has a hard time standing still, what actions can she take now to stop shaking and feel more comfortable and confident?
4. Provide a Mentor
A mentor provides an employee with a living example of good behavior and serves as a powerful tool for transformation. A mentor can observe him in a variety of settings and provide feedback based on those observations. A mentor's scope of influence may vary based on whether she works inside or outside your organization.Weigh each prospective mentor's personal attributes as you're deciding who would be the best fit for your employee. Often times, an external mentor brings more coaching expertise and a greater perspective to the table.Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, La. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
